


Infinity Stones are Powerful

by Rowantreeisme



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, Infinity Gems, Manhattan, Post-Battle of New York (Marvel), Tearing a hole in reality had to have some consequences, headcannon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-12
Updated: 2017-05-12
Packaged: 2018-10-31 00:48:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10888398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rowantreeisme/pseuds/Rowantreeisme
Summary: Manhattan is different now.





	Infinity Stones are Powerful

Manhattan’s different now.

 

Not in a way you’d notice if you’ve never been there before, not in a way that screams out wrongness, but in little ways. Little voices that whisper that something's different. 

The streets aren't always in the right order. It’s easy to get lost.

The stars are brighter, and sometimes if you look up, they’re the wrong stars. Don’t look up. 

 

There are rules now, where there weren’t before. Unspoken and unspecified, but if you live here, you know.

Tip the street magicians well. You never know when it’s not a trick, especially the ones around the Tower.

If you’re walking, and things  _ change _ , keep going. Don’t look back at the pizzeria that was just behind you. It’s not there anymore. 

If your watch stumbles, trips over a second and keeps falling, ticking faster than it should, you don’t need to fix it. It’s not wrong.

Always heed the fortune tellers. They’re not wrong often, these days.

Don’t stand in the Tower’s shadow for too long. You will know when too long is by the prickle on your neck and the humming in your teeth. If you feel that, don’t look up. Seeing it makes it real.

 

Of course, the most changed are the people. Manhattan’s always been for the people, built for them by them, and not the same without them.

War changes people. New York’s war was no different.

Volunteer sign-up rates have never been higher. They’ve seen what might come, what  _ could _ come, and they want to help.

Of course, there’s the cynics too. Jaded and stubborn, certain of worse things to come and waiting for them. 

Did you ever wonder  _ why _ there’s so many heroes and supervillains in New York? Manhattan’s changed. Her people did not. There’s still bad guys who want to take and hurt and  _ rule _ , but as a whole, her people are  _ good _ . 

There’s a reason the good guys always win. After all, no matter how born-and-raised New Yorker a villain is, the home ground advantage always go to the people who know the ground.

 

Her people have seen the worst of the worst, the nightmares and worst-case scenarios. They’ve seen it, lived it, and they won’t let it win.

 

Manhattan’s different now. As always, not much has changed.

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little headcanon thing. Am I the only one who thinks that ripping apart the universe had to have some consequences? Tumblr is rowantreewrites, if you're interested.


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